Born at Moutiers (Savoy), March 25, 1803.
Taking of the habit at Saint-Just, February 23, 1828.
Perpetual oblation at Aix, June 1, 1835 (no. 61).
Died Marseilles, March 16, 1865.
Brother Joseph Marie Roux was born in Moutiers, diocese of Tarentaise, on March 25, 1803. As a young man, he used to travel with his father, who, because of his work, used to travel to various cities in France. He met the Oblates at Nîmes and entered the novitiate at Saint-Just, near Marseilles, April 23, 1828. He made his first vows and vows for five years, in Marseilles, April 25, 1829 and May 1, 1830 and made his perpetual vows on June 1, 1835.
At first, he worked at Nîmes in 1829-1830, at Billens (Switzerland), then at Aix, at Vico, at Montolivet and at Notre-Dame de la Garde where he died March 16, 1865.
In 1835, when Brother Ferrand was sent to Corsica, Bishop de Mazenod wrote to Father Guigues on May 3: “That leaves us only Brother Roux. They are a rare breed but vital…” (Letters to the Oblates of France, 1831-1836, Oblate Writings I, vol. 8, no. 514, p. 159)
In the brother’s obituary, Father Fabre wrote: “Brother Roux was a model of perseverance in fidelity to his work and to the virtues that make up the life of a lay brother. He used to often thank God for the special grace of his vocation. He used to like to tell of the circumstances that led to him to join the family to which he dedicated himself body and soul for ever. He was happy to lead a hidden life in silence and he never found the work he did to be too base or too unworthy of him. His piety was genuine. He sustained his piety by the pious reading he did, readings which left imbedded in his mind maxims which he recalled at the appropriate time. His dedication to his superiors was without reserve. He displayed this devotion many a time toward our venerated Founder and the late lamented Father Courtès…”
Yvon Beaudoin, o.m.i.
